'It is all too rare to hear a band like this, literally bursting at the seams with ideas. Zacht Automaat, the Canadian duo of Carl Didur and Michael McLean, have released an astonishingly diverse and kaleidoscopic array of music across eleven (!) albums in the past three (!!!) years, of which this gorgeously presented set distills the best two LPs worth of sounds. But even that abbreviated amount of music is almost impossible to encapsulate, filled as this record is with tape loops, cosmic workouts, lo-fi dirges, loping exotica-ish patterns, tuneful synth bliss, and modal psychedelia. They've clearly taken a page from Krautrock pioneers Faust, particularly the masterpiece that is Tapes, and let their imaginations and musicality run rampant. This is the best kind of totally listenable experimentation we can always get behind here, and the sounds they conjure hark back to so many long-time Other Music favorites it practically has us giddy, from Can, Cluster, Black Dice, Stereolab, Soft Machine, the Finnish psych underground, the Ghost Box roster, Bruce Haack, and Raymond Scott to a myriad of other brilliant artists we've championed over the years, while still managing to retain a distinct vision and voice. Yes, we realize we're asking you to fork over nearly $30.00 for a double LP from a band you've probably never heard of, but mark my words, you will not be disappointed. Limited to 333 copies, we have a small quantity available, and they most likely will not be coming back.' - Other MusicNext up, please check out the superb I CAN FEEL THE MOLD IN ME from Canadian duo Zacht Automaat, which brews up some well-stewed W. Coast Sandozian freakout, plenny of nightmarish J. Meek and channels some tremendously mucky sub-‘Ultima Thule’ T. Dream motorik clatter, and all o’this via found sounds, berserk organ’drum duels and peak periods of Bavarian Knees-up. Imagine Holger Czukay and Uwe Nettlebeck constructing a mash-up LP from early German jazz, TV themes and Soft Machine out-takes and yooz close to hitting these druids’ pleasure centres, who (I must add) never outstay their welcome, each sonic foray involving audacious opening moments then fucking off right quick like. It’s a canny approach that leaves listeners still requiring more more more. - Julian Cope'Multi-instrumentalists Carl Didur and Michael McLean share a long, intertwined history that stretches into the deepest depths of the Toronto and Hamilton underground rock scenes, including stints in momentary buzz bands (No Dynamics R.I.P.) and recurring gigs backing up Damo Suzuki of Can. But in just three years as Zacht Automaat, the duo have charted an equally convoluted course, pumping out no fewer than 11 releases—online or on cassette—of science-lab psychedelia. Their output forges a lineage of organ-tweaking freakiness that connects the earliest odysseys of Pink Floyd to ’70s Krautrock iconoclasts to modern-day mindbenders like Oneida, Caribou, and The Flaming Lips. Though all of Zacht Automaat’s music can be easily accessed by anyone with a couple of hours to kill on Bandcamp, this self-titled, double album–length collection provides a much more convenient point of entry into their hermetic sound world. This is no mere compilation of “hits,” mind you—it’s a two-hour crazy-quilt patchwork that savvily stiches together choice excerpts from much lengthier pieces into a brisk-paced, constantly mutating mix, like some avant-garde answer to Stars on 45. Their work encompasses intermission music for hockey arenas on Saturn (“Don’t Worry It’ll Be Future”), acidic psych-jazz splatter (“A Trip to See McLean on Holidays Pts. I, II & III”), and the most blissfully epic, otherworldly tribute to a Steeltown suburb ever (“Ancaster Heights”). In every instance, Zacht Automaat’s dizzying instrumentals emphasize the joyful, inclusive qualities of free experimentiation without teetering into indulgence, and the anarchic thrill of colouring outside the lines while still paying respect to those who laid downthe rules.' - The Grid (R.I.P.)'Walk through the luminescent sliding doors and feel the weight evaporate from your body. Step through the archives of time and look out at the glass walls that hold back the drifting stars. Notice thespectral starshipscrossing paths in the distant view. Thecosmic residueof their flight path carries waves of sound as they intercept the room’s speaker system. A digital screen scrolls like a conveyer belt filled with passing phrases, “Ancaster Heights”, “The Smiling Wilderness”, “Disturbed Ground’”, the script runs endlessly. The words are given meaning as each wave grows to an audible strength. On the outside, the distant vessels can be seeing touching down nearforeign embassies, welcomed by euphoric sounds. The speculation is confirmed. Our own takeoff has begun, bound for the farthest reaches of these celestial zones.Set yourself freeand take in the spectacular view.

This collection is a bag of magic borrowed from the enchanted hands of a band that evades hyperbole. Veterans of the interstellar scene, Carl Didur and Michael McLean have parsed the cryptex of popular music and entered into a new dialogue as Zacht Automaat. Adopting new methods and strategies, they have sewn together opposing forces before pulling them apart again to see all the pieces in a different perspective.

Through three years and 11 albums, ZA have melted countless minds and challenged the strength of an equal number of hard drives. Running in at around 80 minutes, this monolithic double LP and bonus CD nevertheless stands in a much bigger pool of music that is no less crucial. Those lucky enough to still find copies of the early Medusa tapes should not resist the urge to grip. Each album is a new zone to explore and this release should be considered the official tour for prospective visitors. Many thanks are owed to Calico Corp. for giving these songs the treatment they deserve.' - Weird Canada

Friday, 31 January 2014

Sunday, 22 December 2013

Now that we have both Carl & McLean (collectively known to the world as Zacht Automaat) in the same province for a short period, it seems like as good a time as any to both ring in the new year and officially celebrate their fantastic wax debut. A show is in order, and a show is to be delivered...

The wonderful Doc Dunn will accompany Coca-Cola (that cosmic duo comprised S. Twig and M. Remy - otherwise known as the muscle behind Calico Corporation) in a compliment towards the out-of-body experience the mighty ZA will surely bestow upon us.

We will have records, music, perhaps some candy - and most certainly fun. See you there Torontonians (and Japanese collectors who surely must be flying in specifically for this majestic event)!

'This collection is a bag of magic borrowed from the enchanted hands of a band that evades hyperbole. Veterans of the interstellar scene, Carl Didur and Michael McLean have parsed the cryptex of popular music and entered into a new dialogue as Zacht Automaat. Adopting new methods and strategies, they have sewn together opposing forces before pulling them apart again to see all the pieces in a different perspective.' - Weird Canada

'Their work encompasses intermission music for hockey arenas on Saturn (“Don’t Worry It’ll Be Future”), acidic psych-jazz splatter (“A Trip to See McLean on Holidays Pts. I, II & III”), and the most blissfully epic, otherworldly tribute to a Steeltown suburb ever (“Ancaster Heights”). In every instance, Zacht Automaat’s dizzying instrumentals emphasize the joyful, inclusive qualities of free experimentiation without teetering into indulgence, and the anarchic thrill of colouring outside the lines while still paying respect to those who laid down the rules.' - The Grid

'Next up, please check out the superb I CAN FEEL THE MOLD IN ME from Canadian duo Zacht Automaat, which brews up some well-stewed W. Coast Sandozian freakout, plenny of nightmarish J. Meek and channels some tremendously mucky sub-‘Ultima Thule’ T. Dream motorik clatter, and all o’this via found sounds, berserk organ’drum duels and peak periods of Bavarian Knees-up. Imagine Holger Czukay and Uwe Nettlebeck constructing a mash-up LP from early German jazz, TV themes and Soft Machine out-takes and yooz close to hitting these druids’ pleasure centres, who (I must add) never outstay their welcome, each sonic foray involving audacious opening moments then fucking off right quick like. It’s a canny approach that leaves listeners still requiring more more more.' - Julian Cope'This shit is the best.' - MeORDER THE RECORD HERE!

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The ZA sound is one entirely difficult to pin down. While they’ve clearly (and admittedly) spent years worshipping at the altar of Soft Machine and their Canterbury cohorts, part of ZA’s great ability is to seamlessly and originally fuse sundry outsider musical strains. Echoes of Sun Ra, White Noise, Terry Riley, the Residents, Faust and baroque psych can be heard in their colourful works. Their innovative treatment of acoustic instruments (drums, piano, guitar, glockenspiel, flute, saxophone, etc...) to achieve otherworldly and synthetic tones swings at times between the eclecticism of pre-Autobahn era Kraftwerk, and the pop-quirk of Joe Meek.

The barrage of signifiers in the previous paragraph does little to acquaint you with just how exuberant and alive the Automaat listening experience can be. Their adherence to structured composition and the elated sense of melody they bring to their music is at odds with the academic persona that often comes with the notion of experimental musicians. Also to consider is just how modern their music can seem, putting them less in debt to their influences and more in line with a tradition of accessible yet innovative music making. Fans of modern music may see parallels with the lo-fi modernism of late Broadcast or Black Dice at their most accessible.

At their best, Zacht Automaat make music for all ages - for the child whose sense of wonder is easily inspired by the playful and exotic in music, to the refined older music fan who seeks a sense of the cosmic (or kosmiche) in their listening. Truly, ZA is for everyone.

Friday, 4 October 2013

Calico Corp. started largely as an idea to release a record for the band known as Zacht Automaat. We are happy to announce that two years and five releases later, that idea has come to fruition.

Over the past couple years, the duo of Carl Didur and Mike McLean have released 11 albums worth of mind scrambling instrumental gold under the Zacht Automaat moniker. This wildly original and exciting music has gone criminally unnoticed despite being released for FREE on the internet.

This double LP compilation collects the finest moments from their diverse catalogue. The package also includes an exclusive bonus CD-R containing an album's worth of outtakes from the inexhaustible Automaat archives along with a download card for the compilation proper.

Please stay posted for a preview video, album stream, and order link.

If you live in Toronto come say Hi at an event we will be holding to celebrate the availability of this latest Calico release. On October 12th Carl Didur will be manipulating a tape loop installation between 8pm - 1am at Grasshopper Records on Dundas St. West. Calico Corp. DJs will also be in attendance.

Lastly, if you'll be in New York for CMJ please check out our label showcase in association with Panache Booking at Silent Barn.